Mong Bal
“Scholars are still puzzled as to why the lush jungle planet, Mong Bal began eroding into a desert five hundred years ago.” This is one of the many lies you might find perusing the Fractured Histories in a Mong Bal library.
One of the more honest translations, anyway. Many won’t admit the desert exists at all. The truth of the matter is that Mong Bal’s slow death is easily traced to the construction of The Great Basin: an ocean sized well which Jin the Magnificent built to store enough nectar to sustain his dynasty’s needs for a millennium.
Even at the time, Homyn alchemists warned the Mong Bal about the dangers of storing massive quantities of nectar outside of Source, but Jin and his warlords dismissed the advice as propaganda aimed at shackling their people to the roving artificial planet.
But the alchemists were right. The Great Basin stayed, Mong Bal turned into a desert, and the Warlords responsible died unconvinced they had anything to do with it. Now, the planet is almost inhospitable, save for a handful of magically sustained cities ruled by the descendants of those responsible for the planet’s collapse.
Jotun, Sera, and Io all have their share of occasional perils, but a Mong Bal walled city is a truly dangerous place. Most warlords control enough artifacts to make them de facto gods within their own walls, and their personalities tend to gravitate toward a dangerous combination of cruelty and insecurity. Mong Bal warlords are not known for having scruples against disappearing anyone who they perceive as a threat to their control.
Those who survive life within the dominion of a warlord, however, are treated to some of the most wondrous locales in the spheres. Each city houses its own impossible ecosystem that reflects the tastes of its leader; including trees that tower to the heights of mountains, winter wonderlands that turn to tropical paradises at a copper frog’s turn, or volcanoes that spew snow when they erupt, just to name a few.
Such cities require nectar and natural resources on a massive scale to maintain. While warlords are flush with the former thanks to Jin’s efforts, the latter has come at a high price to the Mong Bal people. Those who live outside the walls suffer spartan lifestyles in a constant struggle for subsistence. In wake of the Alliance’s formation many angry Mong Bal have taken to arms against their masters in hopes of one day bowing to the Alliance instead of a Warlord.
Physical Characteristics
From a distance Mong Bal appear to be humans with tails and elongated arms, but on closer inspection many share other facial features (predominantly noses and ears) with monkeys. Mong Bal range from 90-250 lbs and 4’ to 8’ tall.Racial Edges: Kings of Swing. Mong Bal receive a +1 modifier to all Acrobatics checks. All Hands. Mong Bal can manipulate objects with their feet and tail with the same level of ease as their hands. For the purposes of grappling, climbing, etc. Mong Bal are treated as having five hands. They can also wield a maximum of three weapons (as opposed to two) at a time using their tail as a third hand. However, tails can only wield small weapons like daggers. Brachiate (Sprinting Edge). With a full set of prehensile limbs propelling them forward, Mong Bal move faster vertically than horizontally. When sprinting, climbed spaces count as ½” rather than 1”. Note that a successful Acrobatics Test may still be required to climb difficult surfaces.
Backgrounds
Warlord
As deluded as the ruling class of Mong Bal tend to be, there’s no denying the job can be tough. Maintaining an opulent lifestyle on a dying planet, playing politics with your family and those from other cities, all while keeping those pesky rebels with their tall tales about an apocalyptic desert in check. Not all warlords are inherently cruel and many (perhaps justifiably) view themselves as functionaries of a necessary evil for holding onto the last vestiges of their once great culture. Warlords will often give away young members of their family to the corsairs as a kind of tribute to convince the Alliance not to intervene in their civil war. Others voluntarily seek the position to discover the system for what it really is beyond the lies their families tell.Background Skills:Diplomacy 1d4, Bluff 1d4, Interrogate 1d4. Background Edge: Walled Mind. All Mong Bal royalty receive training at a young age to protect their minds from pollution in both the waking and dream world from the propaganda of the outside. Mong Bal warlords receive a +1 bonus against those using the Bluff, Astral Combat, or Steal Secret skills against them.
Rebel
Mong Bal who choose their lineage poorly or simply refuse to adopt their local Warlord’s twisted brand of reality often align themselves with a rebel group. Many rebels fight against warlords outside the walls of their cities, but a few operate as spies in the guise of servants, bodyguards, or even torturers for their local warlord.Background Skills: Bluff 1d4, Survival 1d4, Sneak 1d4. Background Edge: Rebel With a Cause. Receive a +1 charisma modifier when dealing with all impoverished NPCs. This modifier increases by one (to a maximum of 4) every time the party defeats a corrupt ruler (at the GM’s discretion to determine who is a corrupt ruler).
Hanuman Brother
All Mong Bal cities share two things in common; they claim to function without the assistance of any outside entity, and they all lie in making this claim. The Hanuman Brotherhood is a renowned organized crime family of smugglers for hire who are responsible for discretely delivering necessaries to the walled cities. They are instantly recognizable (when they are in uniform) by their black robes, conical hats, and crossbows. Any Mong Bal (including women, despite the organization's name) can join the Hanuman Brotherhood at the cost of binding themselves to a strict vow of poverty and complete loyalty to the brotherhood for a duration of twenty years. In exchange, retired brothers receive a lavish retirement stipend and protection by the brotherhood for life. Brothers will often join the corsairs in an attempt to escape their vows. Oftentimes, the Hanuman will also implant members within the Corsairs’ ranks to assist any brothers who may run afoul with the interplanetary law.Background Skills: Crossbow 1d6, Smuggle 1d6, Interrogate 1d6. Background Edge: Black Market Connections. When a Hanuman Brother is inside a city, they may make a Gather Information check to find a Hanuman fence (at GM’s discretion) who will purchase any item from them and sells commonly available black market goods.
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